Purdue University will begin issuing new campus cards that will incorporate a new design, technology, and for the first time in school history, expiration dates.

According to an official university release, the rollout will start in the spring 2020 semester for all new students, with some of the new features being available in replacement cards as early as this August. The timeline for the new campus card aligns with plans dating back to 2014 that slated regular updates to the Purdue ID every five years. The last update was in 2015.

“We issue ID cards for daily campus uses from checking out library books to accessing doors to paying for on-campus meals,” says Tim Riley, Assistant Comptroller & University Bursar at Purdue. “Facilitating those uses will always be the primary factors in deciding how to update the cards, but it’s always a plus if the updates also can make life more convenient for students in other ways by adding new technologies or new features.”

The new cards will be circulated to the Purdue population over the next several years and will include a unique identifier that will enable the cards to be read by more electronic devices around campus. This update in card technology will add more convenience to students in the near term, and according to the university release, better position Purdue for an eventual adoption of mobile credentials.

Joining the new card technology updates is the addition of an expiration date to all student cards -- a first for the university. The Purdue ID will also continue to feature the cardholder's photo and legal name, bringing the Purdue ID more in line with Indiana voting laws as a valid form of identification at the polls. The expiration date will be set six years from the date the card is printed.

The Purdue ID recently found itself the topic of discussion amongst local legislators, as voter identification laws continue to cross paths with the campus card. The university released a statement pledging its full cooperation in finding a solution that suits state voter identification requirements.

“We are not in the voter identification business, but if we can help make voting more convenient for students, we want to do so, and the design parameters of the new card appear to check all the necessary boxes for a valid voter identification,” says Riley. “But it’s up to state, county and local poll workers to decide whether an identification is acceptable for voting purposes, and the surest way for students to guarantee ballot access is to acquire a passport, an Indiana driver’s license or a free Indiana ID card from a Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch.”

The first incoming class to be issued the new cards will arrive in the fall of 2020. An early version of the updated cards that include the new expiration date will be adopted in late August 2019 as the standard replacement student ID.

There is no cost for an individual's first Purdue ID card, but any subsequent replacement card will carry a $25 fee. While the new cards are being integrated into the campus population, Purdue will allow current cardholders to trade in their existing campus card for an updated version at the reduced cost of $10.